Portable clothes drying rack



Jan. 13, 1959 H. RUCKER PORTABLE CLOTHES DRYING RACK Filed July l2, 1956m r W e m 7m C u i of, 6 f 5 s 9. He s? m Q a 3 .W x

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United States Patent Of PURTABLE CLOTHES DRYING RACK Herbert Rucker, NewYork, N. Y.

Application July 12, 1956, Serial No. 597,423

` 1 Claim. (ci. 21u-.96)

The present inventionrelates to a portable clothes drying rack, and moreparticularly is a continuation-inpart of my copending application SerialNo. 475,342, filed December 15, l1954, entitled Portable Clothes DryingRack, now abandoned.

Theprimary object of the invention is to provide a clothes `dryingraclr` which can be readily disassembled i sembled mounted position andhas a substantial clothes I supporting capacity. i i

A still further object of the invention is to provide a portable clothesdrying rack of the class described above which is inexpensive tomanufacture, simple to use, and effective in -drying of clothes.

The present invention is directed in overcoming the known disadvantagesand objectionable features of prior clothes drying racks by providing acompact, easily portable device for drying wet4 articles of clothing.The rack embodying the present invention can be mounted or dismounted ina few seconds on or from any flat surface or furniture, or kitchen orbathroom fixtures, such as a door, chair, table, cabinet, and the like,without damaging the surface of the support, no matter how tine ordelicate a fnishit may have. The present rack has particular utility fortravelers staying in hotels, clubs, rooming houses,`- and similar placesof public accommodation where the traveler must wash and dry a fewpieces ICC.

The rack 10 includes a generally rectangular upright base plate 11, agenerally rectangular horizontal top plate 12, and a generallyrectangular sloping brace plate 13. The top plate 12 is positioned inengagement with the top of the base plate 11 so as to extend beyond thebase plate 11 in both directions. t

A hinge 14 is positioned at the juncture of the base plate 11 and thetop plate 12` and has one portion thereof secured to the base plate 11and the other portion thereof secured to the top plate 12. A removablepintle 15 secures the portions of the hinge 14 together binding the topplate 12 to the base plate 11. The pintle 15 is provided with a loop 16at one end thereof to provide a hand grip for the easy removal of thepintle 15 from the hinge 14.

The brace plate 13 `has the bottom end thereof chamfered as at 17 i andthe top end thereof chamfered as at.

18 so that the brace plate 13 may engage the base plate 11 and thetopplate 12 at the opposite ends thereof with a neat fit. A hinge 19 hasone portion thereof secured to the base plate 11 andthe other` portionthereof secured to the brace plate 13 by any suitable means. Theportions of the hinge. 19 are -detachably secured together by aremovable pintle, generally indicated at 20.

A hinge 21 has one portion thereof secured to the top plate 12 and theother portion thereof secured to the brace plate 13 and the portions ofthe hinge 21 are se cured together by means `of a detachable pintle,generally indicated at 22.

The top plate 12 has secured thereto adjacent'the free end portion 23thereof a suction cup 24 detachably secured to the under surface of thetop plate 12 and depending therefrom. A second suction cup 25 isdetachably secured to the lower free end portion 26 of the base plate 11on the side of the base plate 11 opposite the brace plate 13. The`suction cups 24 and 25 are arof wearing apparel in an emergency. Therack supports and holds the wet clothing at a safe distance from thesupport, and the clothing air dries rapidly without marring the supportor leaving water marks thereon.` The rack can be economicallymanufactured and sold. The rack is attractive in appearance yet whollyfunctional structurally. y

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the followingspecification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention shown attached to a flattop article of furniture.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical crosssection taken alongthe line 3 3 of Figure 1,`looking in the direction of the arrows, withparts broken away for clarity of illustration.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the invention Referring now tothe drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate likeparts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral 10 indicatesgenerally a clothes drying rack constructed in accordance with theinvention.

ranged with their axes perpendicular toeach other.

A support bar` 27 is secured to the base plate 11 on the side oppositethe `brace plate 13 by means of a bolt and wing nut combination 28. Thesupport plate 27 is detachably secured to the base plate 11 and can bepivoted thereon to any desired position.

A plurality of horizontally extending elongated hanger bars 29, 30,31and 32 are detachably and pivotally secured to the upper surface ofthetop plate 12 by means of combination bolt and wing nuts 33. Each of theelongated hanger bars are provided with a plurality of transverselyextending hook receiving grooves 34 in spaced parallel relation in theupper surfaces thereof. The hanger bars 29, 30, 31 and 32 are adapted tobe pivoted to any desired position with relation to the top plate 12 orremoved therefrom to render the rack 10 more portable.

The brace plate 13 has extending from the surface 35 thereof oppositethe base plate 11 a plurality of pairs of hanger rods 36. The hangerrods 36 extend horizontally in parallel relation t0 the top plate 12.The pairs of hanger rods 36 are arranged in vertically spaced relationto afford a maximum of hanger space thereon. Transverse grooves 37 arearranged in the upper face of each of the hanger rods 36 to assist insecuring hooks and garments on the rods 36.

The brace plate 13 is provided with a plurality of vertically spacedhorizontally arranged parallel transverse bores 38. The bores 38 extendperpendicularly to the hanger rods 36 edgewise through the brace plate13, as best illustrated in Figure 2. An adjustable rod 39 is slidablypositioned in each of the bores 321` and are each adapted to be adjustedlongitudinally with respect to the brace plate 13, as best illustratedin Figure l. Each of the adjustable rods 39 are provided withtransversely extending spaced apart horizontal grooves 40 in thePatented Jan. 13, 1959 i is adapted to be secured to a cabinet or deskgenerally ,j

indicated at 45 and having a llat upper surface 46 which overhangs at 47a side wall 48. In attaching the rack 10 to the desk 45 the suction cup24 is fastened to the llat surface 46 of the desk 45 and the suction cup25 is fastened to the vertical wall 48 thereof with the support bar 27in engagement with the overhang 47 of the top 46. The suction cups 24and 25 have a suflcient strength to support the rack 10 with asubstantial quantity of clothes thereon.

When it is desired to utilize the rack 10 to support clothes thereon ofa weight beyond the capacity of the suction cups 24 and 25, theattachment hook 43 is secured to some'point on the desk 45 and coupledto the eye 41 by means of the coupling 42 and flexible cable 44- so asto lock the rack 10 against sliding movement on the desk 45.

The rack 10 may be secured to a panel or door by positioning the suctioncup 25 and the support bar 27 against the face of the door with the topplate 12 extending across the top edge of the door.

The suction cup 24 is removed leaving suction cups 24, 25 and 24a and24h as the attaching means. A small suction cup 50 is mounted on theshank of the attachment hook 43 to prevent damage to the surface onwhich the cable 44 rests.

The rack 10 can be collapsed by removing the pintles 15, 20 and 22 thusseparating the base plate 11, top plate 12, and brace plate 13 intothree separate members.

The bars 29, 30, 31 and 32 are removed by removing the bolts and wingnuts 33, while the adjustable rods 39 can be removed by merely slidingthem from the bores 38. If further collapsing of the parts are necessaryto permit them to be packed in ordinary luggage, the suction cups 24 and25 can be detached as Wellas the support bar 27 so that the disassembledparts of the rack 10 may be arranged in a compact bundle.

In hanging clothes on the'rack 10, the bars 29, 30, 31 and 32 areadapted to receive ordinary coat hangers to support objects such asshirts, sweaters, and the like, while the rods 36 and the rods 39 can beused to support socks and other articles of clothing as well as coathangers when conditions require.

. plate intermediate the opposite ends of said horizontal' Small suctioncups 24a and v24b are secured near the respective ends of the bar 27.These tremendously increase the stability of the rack when fastened tothe mounting place of the rack simultaneously with the other cups 24 and25. When the rack is mounted on a door, the cups 24a and 24h on the bar27 also act as a stabilizer and eliminate any part of the frame fromcoming in contact with the door or whatever the rack may be mounted on.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, itshould be understood that numerous structural modifications andadaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of theappended claim.

What is claimed is:

A clothes drying rack comprising an upright plate, a horizontal plateengaging the upper end of said upright plate in a T-shaped arrangement,a hinge element secured to each of said plates adjacent the juncturetherebetween, a sliding pintle detachably securing said hinge elementstogether, a suction cup attached to one side of said upright plate nearthe lower end thereof, a second suction cup attached to the underside ofsaid horizontal plate at the free end thereof on the same side of saidupright plate as said iirst named suction cup, an angularly disposedhanger bar brace plate extending from the end of said horizontal plateopposite said second suction cup to said upright plate opposite said rstsuction cup, a hinge elev ment secured to each of said upright plate andsaid brace plate adjacent the juncture therebetween, a hinge elementsecured to each of said brace plate and said horizontal plate adjacentthe juncture therebetween, sliding pintles detachably securing saidrespective hinge elements t0- gether detachably securing said braceplate to said horizontal plate and to said upright plate, and aplurality of fixed and adjustable support means mounted on said braceplate and said horizontal plate.

References Cited in the lille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS83,195 Middleton Oct. 20, 1868 110,239 Hutchinson Dec. 20, 1870 729,608Kuntz June 2, 1903 828,435 Stansbury Aug. 14, 1906 1,209,839 HokensonDec. 26, 1916 1,573,579 Ross Feb. 16, 1926 1,797,037 Wolif Mar. 17, 19312,169,183 Fish Aug. 8, 1939 2,249,142 Kagel July 15, 1941

